Your Guardian Angel
by dancelvr234
Summary: All is well in Vicki Byrne's life after she is adopted by Bruce Barnes and released from Northside Detention Center. But what happens when a new member of the Young Tribulation Force comes in between her and Judd? Will things ever be the same?
1. Strange Butterflies

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Left Behind: The Kids or Left Behind. That's Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins. **

**A/N: This is my first ever Left Behind fanfic and I'm kind of excited about it. This is based off the Kids books and bits and pieces from the adult ones. Reviews are very much appreciated, good or bad. Constructive criticism helps a writer grow! R&R!!**

It had been a week since Bruce had made the sacrifice to get me out of Northside. He had pulled some strings and requested the detention center allow him to adopt me. I couldn't be more grateful for what he did. My foster sister, Chaya, was staying with me at Bruce's house providing me with a real girlfriend I could talk to when I needed to. God had really provided great people in my life to help me.

Today was the first day back to school from the previous Thanksgiving break. Or what Nicolae high called "Fall Harvest Break". Why they wanted to add the word "harvest" in the title was beyond me but I was used to the crazy antics of the Global Community by now. Bruce and Chaya had an early morning meeting to attend at the church that day and Judd suggested I spend the night at his house and he take me to school in the morning.

I missed Judd's house. Although I had only lived with him for a few months before I was sent to Northside Detention Center, I still felt so at home here. Judd had been willing to take me, a complete stranger, into his home after I had lost mine; something I would never forget.

I got out of the guest bed I was sleeping in and proceeded to put my clothes on for school. Although no kid enjoys going to school, especially high school, I still had a happy attitude as I combed through my fiery red hair while humming one of my favorite praise songs.

I looked at my self in the mirror and scrunched up my nose in disgust. My hair was so uncooperative. It fell around my face in a strange way and had an unattractive wave to it. I would probably end up putting it in a ponytail despite how much Chaya tried to convince me that I should wear my hair down more often.

I think it was the comb. I needed a better brush to get my hair the way I wanted. I walked out of the guest bedroom hoping to find a better brush in Judd's parents' bathroom downstairs. But as I passed Judd's room, I stopped in my tracks.

His door was open and as I peeked inside I saw something that would normally not affect me but for some strange reason, it did. Judd was standing in front of his bed with two different shirts, most likely debating which one he should wear. But that wasn't what made my mouth drop open. He wasn't wearing a shirt! Normally this wouldn't faze me. I'm sure that if Lionel or Ryan walked around the house in nothing but their khaki shorts, I wouldn't so much as blink. But this was different. No one ever mentioned to me that my best friend had a six pack.

I always knew that Judd was attractive. His brownish-blonde hair combined with his slight goatee gave him a very cute look that I had been aware of the moment I met him. But now the added bonus of his chest made me look at him a completely different way. _Oh boy…_

He suddenly turned around and noticed me standing in his doorway. I bet I looked pretty stupid standing just outside his room with my mouth hanging open. "Hey, Vick," he said with a smile. _I never noticed how cute his smile was. _

I snapped myself out of my reverie and answered him, "Hey Judd. What are you doing?"

"Oh just trying to figure out what to wear to school," he said turning his attention back to his choices. "Hey, you're a girl."

I gave a slight laugh. "Last I checked."

"Well I need a girl's opinion on this." I walked up next to him and surveyed the shirts. They were both very preppy polo shirts in my opinion. One was navy blue with a small insignia in the top right and the other had blue and red stripes.

"Hmmm. I'd go with the blue one. It goes better with your khaki shorts. But I must warn you, both shirts make you look like a frat boy."

He laughed at that as he took the blue one and put it on. "I'm going to disregard that and wear it anyway."

"Alright, whether you look like a partying phi sigma flemma, is up to you."

"Flemma?" he said, barely holding back a laugh.

"What, I don't know the Greek alphabet." He smiled at me again which made me smile. "Listen, while you recite all the fraternity brothers' motto, I'm going to continue my trek for a good brush. I need to figure out what to do with my hair."

"Let me help you with that."

Now I could barely hold back a laugh. "Uh, I don't know if I'd trust your advice on that one."

"Oh stop being so mean. Let me try something."

"Alright," I said with curiosity in my tone. He looked at my hair closely and then brushed a strand out of my face and behind my ear.

"There, all done."

"That's it? Judd, my hair looks horrible!"

"Oh please, you look perfect." I don't think he meant that complement to sound the way it did, but I still blushed majorly.

"Uh, thanks," I said shyly.

"I like your hair down. It gives you a more natural look that I think suits you." I continued to blush.

"Okay, you win. I'll wear down. Now I'm going to go finish getting ready," I said, still blushing. I'm sure by now my cheeks matched my hair.

"Alright, see you for breakfast," he said as I turned and walked towards the guest room. What just happened there? And why is my stomach filled with butterflies? Could it be? Am I falling for my best friend? _Oh boy…_


	2. Exercising Partner

I came down the stairs after finally surrendering to my hair. Judd, Lionel, and Ryan were at the kitchen table eating breakfast. They all looked up and smiled as I approached.

"Morning Vick!" Ryan said with a mouthful of eggs.

"Dude, how many times do I have to tell you? People don't like looking at the chewed up food in your mouth when you're talking," Lionel scolded. Ryan glared at him. He hated being told what to do.

"I agree with you Lionel," I said causing Ryan to turn his glare towards me. I laughed at his expression. "So what's for breakfast this morning?"

"My mom's egg recipe. She used to make this stuff all the time. It's got bacon, sausage, and cheese mixed in. It's delicious," Judd said.

"Yummy, sounds great!"

"Here, sit down. I'll get you a plate," Judd said as he got up to pull a chair back for me and then prepare me a plate. _Very gentlemanly of him. _

Once Judd sat back down with my breakfast, I took a bite. "Mmm. This is good! How come you don't make this more often?"

"Oh I do. When you were gone, I found the recipe and started making it a lot. We all love it," Judd said.

"Well, it's a shame I don't get to eat with you guys every morning. I missed our little meals together."

Everyone was silent after I said that. I don't know why though. Maybe they were trying to take their minds off of the fact that I wouldn't be seeing them as often right after not seeing them for six months. I hadn't really thought of that myself. It definitely put a cloud over my head that didn't go unnoticed by the guys.

"You okay, Vick," Ryan asked suddenly. I quickly plastered a small smile on my face to hide my sudden sadness.

"I'm fine," I told them. None of them looked very convinced when I said this. Yet they still said nothing.

After breakfast we all packed our lunches and gathered our things for school. Then we piled into Judd's BMW and headed to school.

We talked about nothing really in particular, trying to fill the silence. However, after we dropped Ryan off at Global Community Middle School (Lionel was a freshman now and he would be going to Nicolae High with Judd and I) the conversation started to dwindle. Ryan was always the talkative one, I figured.

"Wow, I am so full after that breakfast. It's funny because normally I don't even eat breakfast," I said trying to start up another conversation.

"You know that not eating breakfast can be bad for you. Not only do you not get enough nutrition to jumpstart your day, but you're hungrier later so you end up eating more than you should," Judd chimed in.

"Since when were you the dieting expert?" I asked him.

"Judd's going through a healthy phase. He's been working out all the time, reading fitness magazines, stuff like that," Lionel said from the back seat.

_That explains the six pack. _"Really? You work out every day?"

"I try to. It's actually really fun."

"Maybe I should be doing that. After six months of sitting in a cell most of the day and eating that awful food, I've gained a few pounds."

"Hey, you should do it with me! We can set up a schedule. Like three days a week I'll take you to my house after school and we can work out. I've always wanted an exercise partner," Judd said, getting very excited all of a sudden.

"Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun," I said.

"Oh great, now there will be two physical junkies to tell Ryan and I that we're lazy and fat," Lionel said sarcastically.

"Hey, I never said you two were fat. Although you are lazy," Judd defended. Their light banter continued the rest of the drive to school.

My first day back was pretty uneventful, surprisingly enough. There were a few people that recognized me and welcomed me back (or snickered in the background and whispered about me being sent off to a detention center) but for the most part it was as if I never even left. Although having Lionel there along with the rest of us was pretty cool. At the detention center I ate lunch by myself, but now I could talk and laugh with Judd, Lionel, and John and Mark.

On the way home from school the topic turned back to exercising when Judd suggested that we start today, one of his regular work out days.

"But I don't have anything to where," I said after he asked me. The truth was that I was just tired and although it would be fun to hang out with Judd, I still just wanted to go home, do my homework, and then rest for a little while. I forgot how tiring school can be sometimes.

"You can borrow my mom's workout clothes. She's got tons of stuff. In fact, when me and my brother and sister were at school she would work out at home. I guess I get it from her."

I guess there were no more excuses now. "Oh alright. But I have to warn you, I am not the most physically adept person."

"Well that's what I'm here for. Once I'm done with you, you'll be ready for the Iron Women challenge," he said with a smile. I couldn't help but smile back. The things that boy did to me…

Well I think my statement was later proved right. I was so unfit, it was embarrassing. And yet, Judd was still very patient with me. He would slow down to my pace when we went jogging or he would cut back the push-up count from 30 to 10 so I wouldn't collapse. Even though I practically killed myself (that was proved when I woke up the next morning and I could barely move I was so sore) it was still great to be back with Judd. I had almost forgotten how easy it was to talk to him.

"Well I think that was a pretty successful workout, exercise partner," he told him after we were done as he handed me a water bottle. I almost gulped down the entire thing at once.

"Whatever you say. I just hope that it won't be that bad the next time."

"Well the first time is always the hardest. You'll get used to it."

"Great, I can't wait," I told him sarcastically.

"So, do you want to take a shower here or do you just want me to take you straight home?"

"I'd rather just go home if you don't mind me stinking up your car. I have to admit that after that workout I'm not exactly a flower." _Am I really telling him how bad I smell? I'm such an idiot…_

"Hey if it's alright with you, it's alright with me."

He drove me home without any complaint and we talked about random things the whole way there. Just like any normal best friends would do. He pulled up in front of Bruce's house and smiled at me.

"I'm really glad we did this, Vick. It's nice getting to talk and hang out with you again."

"Yeah, it was pretty great. We'll do it again on Thursday, right?" I asked him as I reached for the door handle.

"Yeah, Thursday. See you tomorrow, Smelly."

I playfully punched him in the shoulder and said a quick goodbye before walking out of the car and into my new home. Chaya was there to greet me.

"What happened to you?" she asked once she saw my tired looking appearance.

"I exercised with Judd after school."

"Oh really? I can not see you working out."

"Well I did. The working out part wasn't too great, but hanging out with Judd was."

Chaya gave me a knowing look. "Oh I see," was all she said before she went to her room. _What was that supposed to mean?_


	3. Mystery Girl

**A/N Hey guys! Long time, no update. I know, I know. I'm super sorry that this took so long! I got so busy and I started so many other stories that this got pushed to the bottom of my to do list. But I finally got around to updating it! I really really really hope that I have enough motivation to get the next few chapters out. I'll try my best! Oh and later I'm going to go back and edit the first two chapters and clean them up a bit. I noticed too many typos and grammatical errors when I was re reading ;p I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let the drama ensue!**

"You're crazy!" I remarked once Chaya had finished saying her piece.

"You can think that all you like but I know what I see. And what I see is both you and Judd having feelings for each other. You know deep down that I'm right. I can see it in your eyes," Chaya said as she came to sit down on my bed.

After I had come home and taken a _long _shower Chaya found me in my room doing homework. That's when she started this whole 'Judd' talk. I kept shaking my head and denying every word she was saying because I would never tell her that she was completely accurate in her assumptions.

"There is nothing going on between Judd and I. We're just friends, I promise."

"Oh I know there is nothing going on between you two. That much is obvious. If there was, you two would be dating. It still doesn't change the fact that you both like each other."

"I do like Judd, just not the way you apparently think I do. And there is _no way_ Judd likes me romantically in any way, shape, or form."

"How would you know? You've never asked him," Chaya said with a knowing grin.

I eyed her wearily. She was looking very suspicious with her big toothy smile and smug expression. Had she had the same type of conversation with Judd while I was away? No, that couldn't be it. Could it?

"So what you're saying is that Judd and I should have a talk about our feelings for each other?"

"Yes! That's exactly what you two should do," Chaya exclaimed happily, thinking she made some sort of breakthrough.

"Never going to happen," I stated bluntly causing Chaya to flop back on the bed in exasperation.

"You two are too stubborn for your own good."

"Gee, thanks. Now would you please leave my room so I can do my homework in peace?"

"Fine, but please think a little about what I said," she commented before exiting the room.

_No need to worry. I don't think I'll be able to stop thinking about it. _

Thursday during school I was looking for the boy that had been plaguing my thoughts for the past week. I needed to talk to him about after school and whether or not we were still going to work out at his house.

As I turned the corner to the hallway where I knew his locker was located I spotted something so strange that had I not witnessed it myself, I wouldn't have believed it to be true.

There, standing in front of his locker, was Judd talking to a short girl with beautiful blonde hair. I couldn't see her face because her back was turned to me but I could tell she was wealthy. She was carrying a designer bag and her clothes were the latest fashions. Judd was smiling and laughing with the girl. He was so wrapped up in whatever conversation they were having that he didn't notice me standing 15 feet away from him.

_Hmm, this is strange. _

Though Judd had had a lot of friends before the Rapture and was fairly well-known at the school, he didn't talk to anyone outside of his core group of new friends, namely myself, Lionel, Mark, John, and Shelley. Of course, that excluded the times he talked to someone about God but even those were few and far between. It was odd to see Judd talking so animatedly to someone from their school, especially a rich blonde who I guessed was very pretty.

Who was she and how did Judd know her? They had to be friends or acquaintances of some sort because Judd wasn't one to strike up a conversation with just anyone.

A wave of a familiar emotion swept through me as I watched the girl place her hand on Judd's arm and begin stroking it. I wasn't exactly _jealous_ of this girl but I was very perturbed by the audacity she was taking with my best friend. I had to find out what was going on between them.

"Hey Vick! What are you staring at?" Mark said from behind causing me to jump a mile in the air.

"Mark! Don't scare me like that," I scolded as I placed my hand over my heart and felt my erratic heartbeat.

"Sorry. Geez, what's eating you?" he asked.

"Nothing," I lied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. I knew I was failing miserably.

"Uh huh. Seriously, what's up? You were staring off into space a minute ago with this nasty look on your face."

"Nasty?" I questioned trying to sound innocent.

"Yeah, like you were really ticked off about something."

"I'm not ticked off." Man I really need to stop lying.

Mark narrowed his eyes in a calculating glance. That's when he spotted Judd and the mystery girl over my shoulder. "Hey, who's that talking to Judd?"

Again I played innocent as I swiveled and looked at the merry teenagers conversing away. I turned back to Mark and said, "I don't know. I've never seen her before. Have you?"

"No, I haven't. That's strange. I thought Judd didn't talk to anyone else at this school besides us," he said before turning his glance toward me. I guess I was giving that 'nasty' look again because understanding suddenly flashed across Mark's face.

"Ah, I see. You don't have to worry, Vick. It's probably nothing," he said.

Immediately I took my eyes off of Judd and his 'friend' to look incredulously at Mark.

"Worry? Why would I worry?"

"It's not like she's his girlfriend or anything. If she was, we would've known about her by now. Your chances with Judd are still intact."

"Whoa, wait a minute! That is not why—"

"Save it, Vick. I'm not stupid. I know how you two feel about each other."

"I swear, there is nothing—"

"I told you to save it. I don't want to hear your pathetic denial." The bell suddenly rang. "Oh, gotta go. I'll see you after school, Vick," Mark said before walking away and leaving me dumbstruck. _The nerve of that boy_.

"I do not have feelings for him," I said aloud to no one. "Why does everyone think that?"

"Think what?" a voice belonging to Judd said from behind me. Again I jumped a mile in surprise. _People seriously need to stop coming up to me from behind. _

"Huh?" I asked him.

"Why does everyone think what?" he asked. I vaguely noticed that the mystery girl was no where in sight.

"Oh, uh. Why does everyone think Carpathia is so great," I lied for the third time. Man, I was acting like Peter.

Judd didn't seem to notice any abnormality in my behavior which I was grateful for. "Yeah, I ask myself that question every day."

I wanted to question him about the girl he was talking to but the bell had already rang and I didn't want to be counted tardy again. "Well, I got to get to class. See ya!" I called before turning and walking away, not giving Judd a chance to respond with his own farewell.

Why was I freaking out about this anyway? So some girl was talking to Judd. Big deal. The only problem was that I knew it wasn't a big deal. This was really affecting me for some reason that I would never admit. _Let's just hope that was one-time encounter._

As John, Mark, Lionel, and I waited in the parking lot for Judd so we could all go to bible study at the church together, I told John and Lionel about the mystery girl to see if they might know who she is.

"Blond and rich? That's all you got? Vick, that could be hundreds of girls," John said once I was finished describing her to them.

"He's right. There are a lot of blonde rich girls at our school," Lionel said.

"But do you know if any of them talk to Judd? They looked like they were close friends."

"Don't think so. I thought Judd didn't have any friends. You know, besides us," Lionel said to the group.

"Yeah, that's what we thought too," I said indicating Mark and myself.

"Either way, way to go Judd for befriending a pretty blonde," John commented.

"Hey! We didn't get to see her face. We don't know if she's pretty or not," I said indignantly.

"Is someone a little jealous, perhaps?" John goaded. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I am not jealous!"

"Uh huh, sure you aren't," John teased before I punched him in the arm.

"Well speak of the devil," Mark said. I turned my piercing gaze away from John and turned toward what Mark had pointed out. Sure enough, Judd was walking toward the group gathered around the two cars. However, Judd wasn't the person everyone was staring at. It was the familiar rich-looking blonde walking right beside him.

_I think my jaw just touched the ground_.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Judd asked the group enthusiastically. No one answered him. We were all too busy sizing up his companion. As I finally got a good look at her I realized my fears had been confirmed. She _was _pretty. No, she wasn't just pretty, she was drop-dead _gorgeous_.

"Oh, yeah. Where are my manners? Everyone this is Ariel. Ariel, this is John, Mark, Lionel, and Vicki," Judd said, pointing out each person as he said their name.

"Nice to meet you!" she said with a sweet smile. I almost gagged.

Everyone (besides me) snapped out of the reverie they were in and gave Ariel a hello. I only managed to wipe the shocked and angered expression from my face and gave a slight, and very fake, smile in her direction.

"I told Ariel about our after school studies with Bruce and she asked if she could come along. I hope that's okay with everyone," Judd said.

_Heck no!_

"Sure," the group answered collectively. I, however, kept my mouth shut.

"So you're a Christian?" Lionel asked. I perked up at this. She had better be or else there was _no way_ she was getting any closer to Judd.

"Sure am! I just accepted Christ a few weeks ago so I don't know much. I figured these Bible studies Judd was telling me about were the perfect opportunity to learn more and make new Christian friends," she said as sweet as can be. It made it all the more difficult to be mad at her.

"How do you know Judd?" I blurted it out. I tried to keep the ugly tone out of my voice but I knew I still sounded rude. My question startled Ariel a little before she shook her head and smiled. I noticed Mark staring me down out of the corner of my eye.

"We're in the same psychology class," Judd answered for her.

"Yeah. Judd has been talking about God in that class ever since we came back to school. I had always listened but I didn't think much of him until I became a Christian myself. I went up to him right after it happened to tell him. He was thrilled, as expected, and we've been friends ever since."

Her story sounded sincere and she seemed genuine but I was still wary. Why hadn't Judd told us about her before if they had supposedly been friends for the past few weeks? I can understand me not knowing since I had been at Northside when all this happened but the rest of the guys acted like this was the first time they had heard the story too. It was all rather suspicious in my eyes.

"We should probably get going. I don't want Ryan to be waiting forever for us and Bruce is on a tight schedule," Judd said as he grabbed the keys to his car and unlocked the doors.

"Oh yeah. Isn't Ryan your friend from the middle school?" Ariel asked as she too walked over to Judd's car.

"Yep. We have to pick him up before heading over to the church. I hope that's okay with you."

"That's fine. I can't wait to meet him!" Ariel replied enthusiastically as she opened the passenger door of Judd's car and got in.

_That's my spot_.

Lionel got in the car too while John and Mark walked over to Mark's truck. There was _no way_ I was riding with Judd and his new 'friend'. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch a ride with John and Mark. I don't want it to be too cramped when we pick up Ryan," I said to Judd, making up the best excuse I could think of.

"Oh, okay. We'll meet you guys there," Judd said with a tiny hint of disappointment in his voice. I don't know why he would be disappointed when his supermodel blonde friend was sitting right next to him.

As I flagged down the cousins and hopped in the backseat of Mark's truck, I couldn't help but feel like I was being betrayed. It wasn't so much that I was jealous of Ariel and Judd's relationship (whatever it was) but that it felt like I had been replaced. I had spent so long at the detention center and away from the boys that it was like I wasn't a part of the group anymore.

"What's the problem, Vick? She seemed nice," Mark commented, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, she _seemed _nice. That doesn't mean that she really is. She could just be kissing up to Judd's friends," I said venomously.

"Geez, Vick. I think you need to calm down. She's no threat to you," John said.

_Oh, yeah. She's blonde, beautiful, and the guys are already taking her side. She's no threat at all._

**A/N So what are your opinions of Ariel? I haven't decided if I'm going to make her good or bad yet. Hehe, I'll guess we'll have to wait and see how the story goes! Please review! Your reviews are the reason why I updated this :)**


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